EU Imposes Record Fine On Meta Over Data Protection
The European Union has decided on a record fine. On Monday, May 22, the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) announced a decision to fine the company 1.2 billion euros in connection with the mishandling of users’ personal data. Despite an earlier decision by the EU Court of Justice, Meta failed to “remove the risks to the fundamental rights and freedoms” of European Facebook users and continues to transfer their data to the US, the statement said.
It is noted that as part of this decision, Meta was ordered to suspend the transfer of data from the EU to the United States and it only affects Facebook, and not other Meta platforms such as Instagram and WhatsApp.
The regulator also gave the company six months to stop illegal processing, including storage, in the United States of personal data of European users transferred in violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
In its initial decision, the DPC did not recommend imposing a fine, but some of its fellow European regulators disagreed, and eventually the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) ordered Meta to be fined.
